Bedtime Stories and Lights
by galia-carrot
Summary: Elizabeth Cutler thinks her husband can be too soft on their youngest child, but sometimes she gives in too.


**A special thanks to MeredithBrody for helping me to work out a few things regarding Denobulan names and for making me finish this one-shot instead of watching pen haul videos on youtube!**

 **This is the first Cutler/Phlox that I've written but I think it turned out pretty well for 11pm on a Sunday.**

"Where you able to get T'Pol calmed down?" Phlox asks as Elizabeth enters the bedroom, having been pulled from the middle of the bedtime routine by one of T'Pol's frequent worries.

"She's fine." Elizabeth smiles. "Always is, you know for a Vulcan she worries an awful lot. Did the children go down fine?"

"This is her first pregnancy to go past the 14th week, I can imagine why she'd be worried." Phlox offers her a smile. That is true, and after three miscarriages Elizabeth can't really blame T'Pol for being as worried as she is, but this is the third day in a row she's been pulled from some other task to check on the Vulcan woman. "But yes she is always fine. Oh the children were fine, Liesel put up a bit of a fight about having to turn the lights off but we settled on a compromise."

"A compromise?" She asks, getting her pajamas out of the drawer and beginning to change into them. "You didn't let her leave the lights on did you?" Though she loved her husband, he had a soft spot for their youngest daughter. Of their five children Liesel was the one who Phlox had a tendency to spoil the most, and the lights being left on at night is a common indulgence of his.

"No, not all of them, but I did move the table lamp from the boy's bedroom into the girls so she could keep that on." He explains, she turns around to raise her eyebrows at him. "What?"

"That's not really a compromise Phlox, that's just a different light." But she can't help the smile spreading across her face, it was kind of sweet how much he doted over their three-year-old.

"It's better than the overhead lights isn't it?" He says as he moves over in bed to allow her room to settle down next to him.

"Only marginally, she's 3 years old and it's not like she's alone in the room. She can sleep with the lights out." She sighs, cuddling up to him. "And it's not just the light, you spoil –"

"Mommy?" A small voice says from the door way, she looks over to see Liesel standing in the doorway, playing with the end of her night gown and pouting slightly.

"What is it darling?" Phlox sits up and motions their youngest child over to the bed, she doesn't need further encouragement, she jumps on eagerly. "Careful, careful, you don't want to hurt your mother or you brother.

Liesel scowls at Elizabeth's swollen stomach, with only weeks to go until the birth of her baby brother Liesel hasn't warmed up to the idea anymore then she had months ago when they told her about him. "I don't want a brother."

"Liesel," Elizabeth says firmly, trying to draw her attention back to the reason she'd come into her parents room in the first place. "What do you need?"

"I want to sleep with you, it's too scary in my bedroom." She pouts.

"Liesel, you know the rules, you're a big girl, you have to sleep in your bed at night." Elizabeth sighs, watching her daughter snuggle up against her husband. Tonight Elizabeth is too tired to fight against the familiar plot to get more books or snuggles out of one of them, dealing with T'Pol has left her drained for the evening. "Come on, I'll tuck you back in, but then you have to stay there."

"Daddy do I have to?" Liesel frowns and pouts up at her father, Elizabeth gives him the 'if you say anything but yes you'll sleep on the couch look'.

"Yes, you have to listen to your mother." Phlox says, and as much Elizabeth appreciates that he's trying to sound firm but he's not doing a very good job.

"Come on kiddo." Elizabeth says, getting out of bed and holding her hand out for her daughter to take. "I'll read you one more story before I leave and maybe you'll get to feel your little brother kick."

"Well… okay, if you read me a story." The three-year-old climbs off of the bed and takes her hand. "But I still don't want a baby brother."

"I'll be right back." Elizabeth chuckles, glancing back at her husband as they leave the room. "Okay, now which book do you want to read?"

As her daughter goes over to the bookshelf and pulls one down Elizabeth can't help but smile it's the book about babies that she and Phlox had gotten for Mathias when their second child was born. About half way through the book Liesel starts to drift off, but before Elizabeth can get out of the room she hears her mutter; "I still don't want a baby brother."


End file.
